恐龍卡第 1567 張，共 2 027 張

Sabre-toothed cat

名字的意思： “scalpel tooth or two-edged knife tooth”1

吃：肉史前傳奇新生代，哺乳動物時代不是恐龍，而是史前傳奇

Smilodon was a powerful, prehistoric cat with huge, blade-like canine teeth. It is often called the saber-toothed tiger, but it was not a tiger at all. This fierce hunter lived in the Americas during the Ice Age.1

這隻不是恐龍，但牠是史前時代最有名的動物之一，所以在 Dino Wiki 也有一席之地。

生存年代

2.5 到 0.01 百萬年前1

新生代，哺乳動物時代

化石發現地

North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay)2 5

長度

1.5 到 2.5 m (4.9 到 8.2 ft)1

體重

160 kg 到 280 kg (353 到 617 lb)1

高度

1 到 1.2 m (3.3 到 3.9 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 50 公里（31 英里）

跑步, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

恐龍出現之前

恐龍時代

哺乳動物時代

4 億年前25266現在

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多高？

牠有多重？

跟 14 隻狗一樣重

跟 2.5 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 14 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 56 顆西瓜一樣重跟 15 個幼兒園小朋友一樣重跟 9 個小學生一樣重能在 7.2 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類要 9.6 秒）

Sabre-toothed cat 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Sabre-toothed cat 時速約 50 公里 (31 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Smilodon had the longest canine teeth of any saber-toothed cat, reaching up to 28 centimeters (11 inches) long in the largest species, S. populator.1

Thousands of Smilodon fossils have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California, making it the most complete record of the genus.1

Despite its nickname 'saber-toothed tiger', Smilodon is not closely related to modern tigers. Its ancestors split from the line leading to living cats about 20 million years ago.1

Smilodon had a short tail, unlike modern big cats like lions and tigers, which have long tails for balance.1

Scientists think Smilodon may have lived in social groups, like modern lions, because many fossils of the same species are found together in the tar pits.1

Smilodon went extinct around 8,200 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, possibly due to climate change and the loss of its large prey.1

The three recognized species of Smilodon are S. gracilis (the smallest), S. fatalis (medium-sized, from North America), and S. populator (the largest, from South America).1

Sabre-toothed cat 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Sabre-toothed cat 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Sabre-toothed cat 最常被問的問題

?How big was Smilodon?

About 1 metre (3.3 feet) tall at the shoulder and 1.75 metres (5.7 feet) long. It weighed between 160 and 280 kilograms (350 to 620 pounds). The largest species, S. populator, was even bigger at 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) tall and up to 470 kilograms (1,040 pounds).1 3

?Could Smilodon roar?

Yes, scientists think it could roar. Its hyoid bones (in the throat) were similar to those of modern roaring cats like lions.3 4

?What did Smilodon eat?

It ate large plant-eaters like bison, camels, ground sloths and horses. It was an ambush predator that grabbed prey with its strong forelimbs and used its long canine teeth for a precision bite.1 3

?Did Smilodon live in groups?

Scientists are not sure, but fossils of injured animals that healed suggest they may have lived in social groups like lions. However, some researchers think they were solitary.1 4 3

?How fast could Smilodon run?

Maybe up to about 50 km/h (31 mph) in a short sprint. This is an estimate: nobody knows for sure. It was slower than a lion, with a heavy, muscular body and a short tail, so it was an ambush hunter, not a long chaser.4 3

?When did Smilodon go extinct?

Around 8,200 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. It died out as part of a mass extinction of large animals in the Americas.1 4

?Where did Smilodon live?

It lived in North America and South America during the Ice Age. Thousands of fossils have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California.1 3

?Why did Smilodon have such long teeth?

The long canine teeth (up to 28 cm or 11 inches) were used to deliver a precise, deep bite to the throat or belly of large prey. They were slender and fragile, so Smilodon had a very wide gape to avoid breaking them.1 3

?Is Smilodon a dinosaur?

No, it is a prehistoric mammal and a saber-toothed cat. It lived long after the dinosaurs went extinct, during the Ice Age.1 3

?How strong was Smilodon's bite?

Its bite was not as strong as that of a modern lion, but it could open its mouth very wide (over 120 degrees) to stab with its long canine teeth. It used powerful forelimbs to hold prey still while biting.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Many people think Smilodon was a tiger.

真相： Smilodon was not a tiger. It belonged to a different, extinct group of cats called machairodonts, which had longer canine teeth and a different body shape.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Smilodon
命名者: Lund 18415
類群: 史前傳奇
科 / 演化支: Felidae5
分類: Mammalia > Carnivora > Felidae5
岩石的年代: 4.7 到 0.01 百萬年 (Zanclean / Holocene)5
岩層: Palm Spring, Miramar5
國家: 美國, 巴西, 阿根廷, 墨西哥, 德國, 玻利維亞5
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 143 筆5
發現: Smilodon was first named in 1842 by Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund, based on fossils he found in caves in Brazil.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists still debate whether Smilodon was a social animal that lived in groups or a solitary hunter, because the evidence from the La Brea Tar Pits can be interpreted both ways.1